Burling machine and method



July 17, 1956 w. N. HADLEY BURLING MACHINE AND METHOD I5 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed June 12, 1951 ON Oh lll m W S wm im mH m E. V N T mn bh n a E Tm.W ,vwd

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Filed June 12, 1951 IIIIII INVENTOR WILFRED N. HADLEY BY MTM? vwdATTORNEYS July 17, 1956 w. N. HADLEY BURLING MACHINE AND METHOD 3Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 12, 1951 INVENTOR WILFRED N. HADLEY AT TOR NEYs United States Patent O BURLING MAcrnNE AND METHOD Wilfred N. Hadley,Springfield, Vt., assignor to Parks & Woolson Machine Co., Springfield,Vt., a corporation of Vermont Application June 12, 1951, Serial No.231,148

10 Claims. (Cl. 26--27) This invention relates to the mechanicaltreatment of woven fabric to remove loose and long threads and lift theshort thread ends, knots and other defects to the surface of the fabricfor subsequent shearing treatment. Heretofore this operation has been atedious and expensive procedure performed solely by manual labor. Theprimary object of my invention consists in the provision of novel methodand mechanism for performing this operation mechanically and at greatlyreduced cost in time and expense.

The improved mechanism comprising the invention includes means forfeeding the fabric in open width and taut condition along apredetermined path, means including rotary brushes for iirst removinglong threads from the fabric, and further means including hook-likeneedles for thereafter penetrating the fabric and bringing defectiveknots and the like and short threads to the surfaces of the fabric forsubsequent shearing. The prior removal of the long threads by thebrushes precludes their fouling and interfering with the workingoperation of the needles on the fabric. The rotary brushes and needlemechanism are of novel and improved construction particularly adapted toperform the functions of the invention, all as hereinafter moreparticularly described. The production of an improved machine of thisnature and for the purposes described comprises a further object of theinvention.

These and other features of the invention will be more readilyunderstood and appreciated from the following detailed description of apreferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration andshown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a sectional schematic view longitudinally and verticallythrough a machine embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of my improved rotary brush,

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged elevation of the needle working mechanism shown inFig. l,

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of Fig. 4 partially broken away,

Fig. 5A is a fragmentary view of mechanism shown in Figs. 4 and 5,

Fig. 6 is an enlarged end elevation of two worker rolls carrying thehook-like needles and illustrating their operation on the fabric,

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary elevation on reduced scale of a worker roll andparticularly illustrating its construction,

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary View illustrating the preferred needleconstruction employed, and y Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of the portionof Fig. 6 within the circle 75.

In Fig. l, 10 indicates a roll of woven fabric 11 `as it is receivedfrom the loom. This fabric contains loose and long threads, knots, shortends and various defects all of which must be removed and which haveheretofore been removed by slow and tedious hand work. The fabric is ledfrom the roll 10 over an inspection frame 12 rice illuminated beneath at14, and from thence the fabric passes loosely into a collecting chamber15.

The novel features of the invention are indicated at A and B in Fig. l.The mechanism at A embodies primarily two brushing rolls 16 and 18engaging the two faces of the fabric and adapted to remove long threadstherefrom prior to the treatment of the fabric at B. The mechanism at Bembodies a plurality of needle carrying rolls 20 for engaging both facesof the fabric and bringing defective knots and the like and shortthreads to the surface of the fabric for subsequent shearing treatment.

The brushing rolls 16 and 18 are illustrated in detail in Figs. 2 and 3.Each comprises a cylindrical body member 22 mounted on a shaft 23.Disposed in spaced relation thereon and thereabout are three arcuatelycurved and relatively long plates 24 each having a bank 26 of long andstiff wire bristles extending outwardly of its convex face. The banks ofbristles are in spaced relation circumferentially of the brush providinggaps 28 therebetween. The plates are secured to the body 22 by longmetal strips 29 engaging the plates and screws 30 extending through thestrips and plates and into the member 22.

The brushes 16 and 1S are suitably driven in the directions indicated inFig. l whereupon they engage the long threads on the fabric and wrapthem about the brushes. Such threads as are attached at one end to thefabric are also broken from the fabric and removed. When the brushesbecome loaded with a mat 32 of these long threads the mat must beremoved since the brushes would otherwise fail to perform their intendedfunction. The

spacing of the brushes as indicated permits the cutting of the mat, asby knife 33, whereupon the mat can be stripped from the brushes.

The needling mechanism at B preferably embodies two parallel series ofworking rolls 2i) rotatably supported at their ends in a frame 34. Eachroll comprises a cylindrical body member 36 supported on a shaft 38 andhaving a plurality of needles 40 disposed in spaced relation around andalong the roll. l preferably mount the needles on the rolls in the novelmanner illustrated in Fig. 7. The needles illustrated comprise the legsof staples 41 driven outwardly through a band 42 of fabric wrapped aboutand secured to the inner body portion of the roll. As illustrated, thestaples are driven through a relatively narrow band 42 of reinforcedfabric and are shaped, sharpened, ground and hardened to providehooklike free ends 43 all pointing in the same direction longitudinallyof the band. The wrapping of a wider band or a plurality of bands 42about the roll provides a greater lateral slant or inclination to theneedle points so that they have a more effective sidewise pickingaction.

The rolls are mounted for free rotation in the frame 34 and each end ofeach body member 36 is engaged by a friction shoe 44 preferablyindividually adjustably mounted on a rail 46. Each rail is supported onrods 47 for lateral movement toward and from the rolls and is normallyforced away from the rolls by compression springs 48 on the rods. Therail together with all the brake shoes thereon is adjustable bodilytoward and from the rolls by bolts 50 and 51. The bolts 50 extendloosely through a plate 52 rigid with the frame 34 and are- The bolts 51are threaded intov threaded into the rail. the plate 52 and their innerends abut against the rail,

against the plate,

adjusted as a unit relative to the rolls and thus provide uniformbraking action thereon.

In the drawing I have illustrated two vertical series of working rolls'20 with l0 rolls in cach series. The fabric 11 passes from the chamber.t5 over supporting bars 56, thence between the rotary brushes i6 and18, thence over rods 55, 56 and 57, to and through the needlingmechanism B. Power driven drums Se and 612, located respectively at thetop Jiunction of the two series of rolls and at the bottom of the secondseries of rolls, are provided for moving the fabric forwardly asindicated by the arrows.

As iliustrated in Fig. 4, certain of the wo 20 directly adjacent to eachotter in each se their needles pointing in the same circumferentialdirection and other rolls directly adjacent thereto have their needlespointing in the opposite circumferential direction and the fabric isthreaded to the rolls and into contact with needles thereon pointingaway from the drum which pulls the fabric, thereby projecting theneedles into the fabric at both faces thereof when the fabric is drawnby the drum. The rolls with oppositely disposed needles can bealternately arranged as illustrated in Fig. 6 or the rollsintermediately of the end rolls in each series can be arranged in pairswith the needles of the alternate pairs pointing in oppositecircumferential directions, as illustrated in Fig. fi. This arrangementfacilitates the tortuous threading of the fabric through the rolls.

The drum 5S is driven by a chain S2 and the drums 58 and 6i) areconnected by an endless chain 64. The drum 58 draws the fabric from thechamber T15, past the brushes 16 and i8, and through the first series ofWorking rolls 20, and the drum 6i) draws the fabric through the secondseries of working rolls 2t). The brushes remove the long threads whichwould otherwise interfere with and clog the working of the needles at).As the fabric is drawn over the rolls 26 in a direction opposite to theneedles engaged thereby, the needles penetrate into the fabric, and thedegree of penetration is regulated by the amount of braking effortplaced against the rolls. The movement of the fabric rotates the rollswhen the tension is sufficient to overcome the braking friction. It willbe apparent that the amount of friction applied to the rolls will bedetermined largely by the weight and character of the fabric beingtreated.

The cylindrical body portion 36 of a preferred working roll which Iemploy is two inches in diameter and the needles are provided with a 72bend and sharpened to form the hook-like points 43 at the extreme freeends of the needles for penetrating the fabric drawn thereagainst. Asillustrated more specifically in Fig. 8, the needles are uniformly bentcircumferentially of the roll at an intermediate point 37 and the degreeof bend is such that the portion of each needle outwardly of theintermediate bend point 37 is bent approximately 18 from the innerportion thereof, the outer portion thus being bent 72 from the base line37 shown in Figs. 6 and S. As illustrated more particularly in Fig. 6,the needles penetrate the fabric and the hook ends 43 engage the slugs,knots, other defects and the loose ends, and as the needles leave thefabric the sharp hook ends cling to the defects and thread ends and liftthem to the surface of the fabric, as illustrated at 66 in Figs. 6 and9.

From the hurling mechanism at B, the fabric passes to and through theshearing mechanism at C and is delivered fanfolded at 68, power drivendrums being provided at 70 for thus continuing the movement of thefabric. The mechanism C includes shearing knives at 72 which shear fromboth faces of the fabric the threads and defects 66 disposed outwardlyof the two faces. Following this hurling treatment the fabric ispassedthrough further treatments including fulling, scouring,carbonizing, neutralizing and dyeing, and following these treatments itmay be passed through napping mechanism to pull out a nap or mat toproduce a velvety finish or such finish as is desired.

Having thus disclosed my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. Burling mechanism comprising means for feeding a strip of wovenfabric in open width and taut condition along a predetermined path, twodriven rotary brushes for respectively engaging the two faces of thefabric thereacross at one portion of the path to remove and breaktherefrom loose and rough threads, and a series of worker rolls at anadjacent and subsequent portion of the path for engaging both faces ofthe fabric on their peripi' ries and having outwardly extending needlesWith hook-like ends for entering the fabric and lifting loose anddefective portions thereof outwardly of said faces.

A hurling roll comprising a cylindrical body, fabric wrapped about andsecuredto the cylindrical surface of the body, and a plurality ofneedles anchored in the fabric and entendi; outwardly therefrom, theneedles being uniformiy bent intermediately thereof in one directioncrcumferentisftily of the roll and having sharpened hooklike points attheir extreme free ends extending circumferentially in said direction.

3. The hurling roll defined in claim 2 in which the portion of eachneedle outwardly of the intermediate bend thereof is bent approximately18 from the inner portion thereof.

4. Burling mechanism comprising a series of relatively spaced rollsarranged in alternate pairs and mounted for rotation on parallel axes, aplurality of needles disposed in spaced relation around and along therolls, said needles being anchored to and extending outwardly from theperipheries of the rolls and having sharp and hook-like free ends, meansfor placing a predetermined frictional resistance to free rotation onthe rolls, and a driven drum at one end of said series for receiving andmoving a strip of fabric over and in arcuate contact with the rolls, tncneedles of one alternate group of the rolls pointing in onecircumferential direction and adapted to engage one face of the fabricand the needles of the other alternate group of the rolls pointing inthe other circumferential direction and adapted to engage the other faceof the fabric and the fabric being threaded about the rolls and intocontact with needles thereon pointing away from the drum whereby theneedles project into the fabric when the fabric is drawn longitudinallyby the drum.

5. The combination defined in claim 4 plus a second series of like rollsspaced from the first named rolls, and a second driven drum remote fromthe first named drum and adjacent to a junction of the two series forreceiving the fabric from one of the series and passing it to the otherseries.

6. Burling mechanism comprising a series of relatively spaced rollsmounted for rotation on parallel axes, a plurality of needles disposedin spaced relation around and along the rolls, said needles beinganchored to and extending outwardly from the peripheries of the rollsand having sharp and hook-like free ends pointing in the same directioncircumferentially of each roll, means for placing a predeterminedfrictional resistance to free ro tation on the rolls, a driven drum atone end of said series for receiving and moving a strip of fabric overand in contact with the rolls, the needles of certain of the rollspointing in one circumferential direction and adapted to engage one faceof the fabric and the needles of the other rolls pointing in the othercircumferential direction and adapted to engage the other face of thefabric and the fabric being threaded about the rolls and into contactwith needles thereon pointing away from the drum whereby the needlesproject into the fabric when the fabric is drawn longitudinally by thedrum, a second series of like rolls disposed along and spaced from thefirst named series, and a second driven drum remote from the first nameddrum and adjacent to a junction of two series for receivingV the fabricfrom one series and passing it t0 the other series.

7. A method of removing knots and fabric imperfections from one face ofa strip of fabric, which consists in moving the fabric in open widthlongitudinally and with said face in longitudinal and circumferentialcontact with a cylindrical body including spaced needles projectingoutwardly therefrom and having sharp and hook-like fabric receiving endspointing in a direction opposed to the movement of the fabric, andplacing predetermined resistance to free rotation on the body whereby tocause the needles to engage the fabric at said face and pull out saidknots and imperfections as the needles leave the fabric.

8. The method defined in claim 7 plus the step of continuing themovement of the fabric longitudinally and in open width beyond theneedle engagement therewith and shearing said knots and imperfectionsfrom said face, thereby preparing the fabric for further and usualnishing treatment.

9. A method of removing knots and fabric imperfections from both facesof a strip of fabric, which consists in moving the fabric in open widthlongitudinally and with said faces respectively in longitudinal andcircumferential Contact with two cylindrical bodies including spacedneedles projecting outwardly therefrom and having sharp and hook-likefabric receiving ends pointing in a direction opposed to the movement ofthe fabric, and placing predetermined resistance to free rotation on the6 bodies whereby to cause the needles to engage the fabric at said facesand pull out said knots and imperfections as the needles leave thefabric.

10. The method defined in claim 9 plus the step of continuing themovement of the fabric longitudinally and in open width beyond theneedle engagement therewith and shearing said knots and imperfectionsfrom said faces, thereby preparing the fabric for further and usualfinishing treatment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 34,038Kershaw Dec. 24, 1861 494,152 Martinot Mar. 28, 1893 504,010 Wilson Aug.29, 1893 1,996,544 Justice Apr. 2, 1935 2,012,184 Cobb Aug. 20, 19352,035,641 Dickie et al. Mar. 31, 1936 2,170,968 Gentle Aug. 29, 19392,340,069 McCarthy et al. Ian. 25, 1944 2,469,245 Russell May 3, 19492,575,635 Meyer et al Nov. 20, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 606,315 GreatBritain Aug. l1, 1948 73,574 Germany Mar. 21, 1894

